


Come hell or high water

by MegaLia



Category: K-pop, VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst, Blood and Injury, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Romance, Torture, Violence, be careful, it's still pretty bad, protective Jung Taekwoon, the bad stuff all happens in the first two chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:42:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27084316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaLia/pseuds/MegaLia
Summary: Taekwoon is a Vampire and works as a police officer with the Supernatural Department.Hakyeon is a Fairy in need of help.This is how they meet and eventually fall in love.
Relationships: Cha Hakyeon | N/Jung Taekwoon | Leo
Comments: 3
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! 
> 
> Welcome to my newest project - or well maybe not as new as my other stuff. So this is a story I've started years ago over on asianfanics.com but never really got to finish it. I kind of hit a few bumps in the plot and somehow lost interest. A few weeks ago I decided to just rewrite the whole thing because I still adore the concept I've created. So here it is. I hope you'll like it! Leave a comment if you do, I'd really appreciate it ^w^ (Mind the tags and warnings tho)
> 
> MegaLia <3 
> 
> By the way, I'm also uploading this to asianfanfics.com: https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1462436/come-hell-or-high-water

“Run!” Taekwoon shouted at his companion, while trying to keep their attackers at bay.

“I can't just leave you!”, Wonshik screamed back, barely managing to remain on his feet from the blow Jinho had dealt to his lower ribs earlier.

“That wasn't a question!”

With every passing second, they spent discussing, Taekwoon's power got fewer and fewer. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold them up any longer, but he couldn't let them get to the younger. 

“But Hyung-”

“Run god damn it! That's an order!”

He may be with his back to the younger but could literally _feel_ him flinching. Taekwoon hated to let his authoritative voice out at his squad members, but Wonshik wouldn’t cooperate otherwise and Taekwoon would be damned if he let him get hurt any further.

“But what about you?!”

Taekwoon threw one of the attacking demons – Songhee, if he remembered the case files correctly – against the nearest tree.

“I'll be alright! Go and get the others as fast as you can,” he managed to croak out before he had to dodge the fist of another demon.

Two of them were already lying unconscious on the floor, not even moving an inch from where Taekwoon and Wonshik had beaten them into the ground. He caught the hesitancy in Wonshik’s stance and threw him the coldest _stop-fighting-me-on-this_ -stare he could manage. That did the trick at last. 

“You'll better be alright when I'm back with the others!” Wonshik shouted and began running – or more like stumbled away thanks to the probably broken ankle.

“Don't let him get away!” The leader, Hyunsu, shouted from where he was trying to get up, whereupon Songhee set out to intercept Wonshik. Not that Taekwoon let her get far. He halted her sprint with a well-placed kick to the stomach. Taekwoon’s satisfaction at a well placed blow lasted for all of five seconds before she grabbed his leg in a bruising grip and threw his balance off. There was a gruesome _crack_ as Taekwoon’s wrist tried to soften his fall and snapped in half. He blacked out for a second as the air was pushed out of his lungs. A scream ripped from his throat when a sudden weight dropped onto his body, messing up his wrist further.

But Taekwoon wouldn’t give up. In the corner of his eyes he saw Hyunsu stumble onto his legs and into the direction Wonshik had fled to. Mobilizing all the power in his battered body and then some, Taekwoon threw the demon off him. He didn’t know how but he’d managed to get up of the floor and within seconds he had Hyunsu on the floor underneath him, his good arm pressed into the Demon’s throat.

“I won’t let you,” Taekwoon groaned out between clenched teeth. He just needed to hold on until backup arrived and maybe take out both demons in the process. Wonshik was trustworthy. He might be injured but they were vampires. Their pain tolerance was higher than anyone’s. Wonshik would soldier through it and then they’d finally be rid of those pests-

A dull _thud_ was the last thing Taekwoon registered in the back of his head before his world was swallowed by the heavy embrace of unconsciousness. 

* * *

Taekwoon woke up to a world of pain, more specifically his head. Kind of like someone trying to pry his skull open with an impact drill after being hit by several trucks.

Taekwoon felt like shit and that was putting it mildly. His eyes were fucking glued shut judging by the time it took him to open them. The taste of bile clung to his mouth like a damn disease making swallowing so much harder. His near surroundings didn’t give away much, what with all that darkness and general blurriness of his eyes going on. The only thing he knew for sure was that it was cold, clammy and hard. His sharpened sense picked up the pitter patter of rats or mice running around somewhere down the place as well as the heavy metallic scent he’d forever connect to blood.

The thought brought something else to the forefront of his mind. A niggling thought that dragged its sharp claws down his spine all the way to where it carved itself a place in his stomach. When was the last time he fed? A voice, oddly reminiscent of Jaehwan, chided him.

 _That’s what you get for underestimating your bodies urges._

Jaehwan was always the one urging them to feed regularly. Wonshik and Taekwoon liked to forget that aspect of their nature when it came to a case.

Was that what this was? Had they been on a case?

A sharp pain stabbing at his brain made him shy away from further inspecting the circumstances that led him to be here – wherever _here_ was.

At least he could say that _here_ was not a friendly place, if the collar and the shackles around his wrists and ankles were anything to go by. And on the topic of wrists: _Holy mother of god fucking damnit_ did it hurt. The whole of his right wrist was pulsing and burning and chafing like crazy. Taekwoon wasn’t sure if his mind was playing tricks on him but that wrist shouldn’t be able to bend in that direction, right? What in heaven’s name had he done?

One of Taekwoon’s groans must have caught the attention of someone else as he suddenly picked up on a voice ahead of him belatedly he also registered the faint heartbeat.

“You’re awake, finally!”, the delicate voice whispered into the air. It didn’t sound as if the breathy quality to it was a normal thing. For some reason it felt like the voice should have more volume. Another captive?

Taekwoon craned his head in the source’s direction but aborted the motion when his head protested with a stab of pain.

“Are you okay…?”

 _Of course, he was not okay_ , Taekwoon wanted to growl but his voice wasn’t cooperating. Probably better for both. Taekwoon didn’t want to scare whoever was there away and while he was annoyed, he needed the company. Maybe that way he could figure out what happened and possibly find an escape as well.

So instead of cutting off the - probably - only source of information, Taekwoon just hummed in what he hoped was a confirmation. He was a police officer after all. If this person – the voice was too thin to make out if they were male or female – was a captive as well, they were probably hurt or scared or both. It was part of his job to spend hope wherever he could. He needn’t concern the poor soul with his problems. Taekwoon has had worse.

“That’s a relieve,” the person sighed, “you’ve been out for about a day I think, hard to tell. You kind of loose track of time down here…”

A day? He’s stayed unconscious for that long? At least the person has been here longer than Taekwoon. He could use that to their advantage. Whatever they were, they must have an inkling on how tight this place was guarded. The most interesting thing was though, that Taekwoon wasn’t even sure anymore if whoever was with him was even a normal person. Taekwoon was pretty good at identifying species by their smell. Be it the neutral smell of human flesh, the metallic tang that clung to vampires, the smell of wet fur for werewolves or even the rotting scent of demons. Most species with heightened senses could keep those base scents apart.

This wasn’t such a case. There was the metallic taste of blood in the air but that hung over this whole place. Clinging to the stony, mossy walls of this prison was the deep inlayed rot of the demon nature. But if you took all that away, including the stinging scent of his own vomit, there was no wet fur or human flesh. Instead the being had a smell unlike anything Taekwoon had ever smelt before. It was something akin to flowers or maybe even a wide field of lush green grass but that didn’t seem quite right. No, it wasn’t any of these directly. More like, as if they were charged with… sunlight? Was that even possible? As far as he could remember sunlight didn’t have a scent. Not that Taekwoon’s account could be accurate, what with vampires burning to ash in the sun. Naturally there had been a time when he could go out and enjoy the feeling of the sun kissing his skin, but no smell attached to it. Except that that was the picture the smell evoked in his tattered mind. Whoever was with him smelled like they were charged by the sun.

If he could only turn his head a little further-

Another groan escaped his parched throat halting all his movements.

“You know, maybe you should sleep some more. I mean it's not that I'm complaining about finally having some company that's conscious, but you'll probably need all your power for when Hyunsu comes back.”

 _Hyunsu_ …

That name rang a bell somewhere deep down memory lane. He tried to cling to the name and ignore the murder headache hammering away at his mind. The more he focused the closer he got to that specific memory. Just a bit more and-

All of a sudden Taekwoon’s mind was flooded by the rush of memories that surfaced in his brain.  
  
They fell victim to a trap. A trap set up by Hyunsu and his clan, which they were to observe.  
  
They stood in a forest. He and Wonshik against four other demons.  
  
They began their fight. Both vampires couldn't even look so fast as the first demon began the battle.  
  
They fought with everything they had. Bites, scratches, gaping wounds, screams of pain, the sound of flesh being torn away, Wonshik’s ankle cracking in two.  
  
They were outnumbered. Taekwoon had all his hands full with keeping one half of them at bay as Wonshik's awful screams of pain reached his ears.  
  
They couldn't win. The only chance Taekwoon saw, was sending Wonshik away.   
  
They had an argument. Sometimes Wonshik really was too stubborn as that it did him any good.

Everything that happened, from the moment they fell for the trap to the moment his world went black, was back in his head present as if it had happened just seconds ago. It also explained his broken wrist and the drumming against his head.

At least he’d succeeded in keeping them off Wonshik. Taekwoon would’ve caught Wonshik’s scent from anywhere in this hole. One mercy at least. Now they just had to survive long enough for his squad to find him. Knowing them as long as he had, Taekwoon was positive that they were alreaddy turning over every stone twice in order to find him.

All Taekwoon could do was follow the stranger’s advice and get some more rest. He could need it in the near future should the chance for an escape arrive. Hopefully that chance wasn’t too far away. Bloodlust was a bitch to keep at bay once it took hold of you. That would be a problem for the future thought, if even. For now, Taekwoon closed his eyes and fall back into the arms of unconsciousness.

* * *

The second time, Taekwoon didn’t come through on his own but he also wasn’t quite sure _what_ had pulled him back into the land of the living. His head didn’t feel like it was on the brink of exploding anymore, even though that could be attributed to the bloodlust slowly taking over Taekwoon’s mind. He didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. Currently he was leaning towards the _not good_ side. Another pleasant surprise was the fact that Taekwoon was no longer smooching the floor. Instead his back was leant against a hard, cold and uneven wall, his legs stretched out and arms loosely hanging down his sides. It was made of the same stone as the floor and a kind of dampness had seeped into Taekwoon’s shirt so not exactly more comfortable but probably granting him a better view of his surroundings. If he could only-

His thoughts where interrupted by the piercing scream of a voice that was never meant to scream. It pierced almost painfully through Taekwoon’s sensitive ears and raced down his spine.

“Where is it?”, a dark voice suddenly asked, it's tone harsh and frightening, a complete contrast to the previous one.

“Please… Stop...”

Taekwoon wasn't in the possession of a heart – well he had one, but it wasn’t beating so practically it counts as not having a heart – but the desperateness with which the voice was laced broke something in him. It was filled through and through with pain, fear and helplessness, qualities that Taekwoon never liked to hear in a voice.

“Seon will stop when you tell us where it is,” the dark voice answered in a sickly-sweet tone.

“I-I-I-” A loud slap echoed from the walls followed by pain filled sobs.

“ _I-I-I!_ Stop stuttering and _speak_ god damn it!” A different, even darker voice then the one before shouted and it finally gave him enough incentive to try and pry his eyes open.

“I can't...” This time he could hear something large hitting flesh which was followed by a heavy coughing fit.

“ _I can't, I can't, I can’t!_ I can't hear it anymore! That's the only thing you've said the past days!” A second, a third punch and by the fourth one Taekwoon finally convinced his body to open his eyes.

For a short moment everything was blurry and spinning in his head, probably a result of the still constant blood lust. But the pitiful whimpers between the coughs helped him focusing and soon he could take in the situation at hand. The room – or more like room _s_ \- was dimly lit by some torches on the wall. It was enough brightness to not hurt his eyes while allowing him to properly take in his surroundings. As expected, he was chained up in a small dank medieval style prison cell. Nothing special there. What caught Taekwoon’s attention was the cell right in front of him, the one where most of the light came from.

There was a total of three people in the cell. Two of them clearly of demon nature by the smell of it. They stood with his back to him so he couldn’t be sure who they were but it’s not like that mattered anyway. No, the demons weren’t what caught Taekwoon’s attention. It was the third – probably male – person with stark silver hair that clashed horrible with all the dark surroundings. He was of average height, had a very petite almost skinny figure and looked pretty young. Maybe in his early twenties? His skin held a slight tan, but it looked more like a sickly tone between brown and white, while his face was almost devoid of all colours. The guys face had a light round shape to it with sunken in cheeks, full but chapped lips tainted blood red and a pair of magnificent chocolate brown eyes surrounded by big dark bags. All in all, he looked quite banged up. There were funny shaped blue, green and purple bruises covering his body accompanied by cuts and wounds of every size dripping blood everywhere. His baby blue shirt was torn and soaked with sweat, blood, tears and something that could be vomit.

He was standing, pressed to one of the surrounding walls, his hands tied to a hook on the wall above his head. Dried blood stuck to his wrists from where the metal shackles had rubbed them open. His skinny legs were barely managing to carry the boys weight but they couldn’t give in, even if they wanted to the shackles were easily explained to short and so his shaking legs did not have any other possibility than to hold his bodies weight.

But all those details fell away once Taekwoon’s attention stumbled upon a pair of bright, colourful… wings? _What the fuck?_ Taekwoon had to close his eyes a couple of times to make sure it wasn’t a hallucination by his bloodlust addled mind but no. There, coming out of the guys back, was a set of wings that were bent downwards at a seemingly uncomfortable angle. For the most part they were kept in a bright arctic blue mixed with a richer cobalt blue, while the ends were held emerald green and running into a light orange hue until ending with fiery red tips. Never in his life had he seen such a play of harmonizing colours. Not even the comparison to a rainbow would be good enough to describe them. They worked a hundred times better together and were so much more rich and intense in colour that a rainbow would easily be overshadowed.

To sum it up: They were splendid and could only belong to one species and that was what threw Taekwoon off the most.

How in god’s name, were Demons able to capture a fucking _fairy_?! The last sighting of a fairy had been centuries ago. Most of the people that had ever seen a live fairy were either dead or very good at keeping a secret. After their uprising they made sure that no one that came into contact with a fairy survived the encounter. Especially not Demons.

So again: How could demons, creatures sent from hell that every fairy avoided like the pest, catch one? It’s not even like fairies lived in their world anymore. They lived shut off from the world god knows where, hidden by a spell only their folks could break.

If Taekwoon wasn’t convinced he needed to get them out before, he was now. Only over his dead body would Taekwoon let them get away with torturing this poor soul. Fairies had suffered enough in the past to last a lifetime. If he could just scrap together enough power to free himself from his shackles- but his brain wasn’t working properly. His spreading bloodlust made thinking almost impossible. All he could come up with was to try and pull their attention away from the fairy.

Easier said than done. Taekwoon’s lips wouldn’t move and his throat was protesting after all the happenings from the past days, but he powered through. If only because of the heart wrenching cries of the fairy. They weren’t letting up on him and just continued punching their fists into his stomach. The tanned male coughed up more and more blood, his cries slowly becoming weaker and weaker with every punch until Taekwoon _fucking_ _finally_ managed to speak up.

“Stop!” he exclaimed, though not as loud and strong as he had intended to.

It did its deed though. The punching stopped and both demons turned in his direction, their dangerous glistening red eyes trying to burn themselves into his very soul. It needed more than that to intimidate him.

“Look, look, look… Our sleeping beauty has finally emerged from his sleep,” the taller demon sneered before disappearing in a cloud of smoke and reappearing crouched right in front of Taekwoon. At least now he was sure who he was dealing with.

“I hope you've slept well in our humble cell.”

The urge to rip Hyunsu’s head clean of his body burnt right through Taekwoon’s veins, searing and devouring everything in its path but all he could do in the end was convey his murderous thoughts through his eyes. He always had very expressive eyes.

“I'll take that as a no? What a pity though… It's such a nice place. We had it renovated juts the past week. You know, added the nice chains and such.”

Again, Taekwoon couldn’t answer and just continued to glare.

“Look at that, big bad cop Jung Taekwoon reduced to glaring. I thought you wanted my attention. Now you have it and you're ignoring me. You've got really bad manners for someone your age,” Hyunsu said with a patronizing tut and booped Taekwoon’s fucking nose. The _nerve_!

“Or could it be that maybe someone is hungry?”

Taekwoon willed his body not to react but the demon kept going anyway.

“It’s been quite a few days that you’ve been here. How about I bring you a little snack, hm? Surely that will brighten your mood.”

Without waiting for an answer Hyunsu disappeared again. Fucking unfair of them to be able to travel between the planes. It made fighting them even worse. The other demon, still standing at the fairy’s side, passed his time by digging into one of the fairies several wounds and draw the blood from it all over his captive’s face. Not that the fairy seemed to notice anymore as far gone as he was. Taekwoon’s stomach churned and not from the blood lust. Fucking disgusting those bastards.

Then there was another cloud of smoke and before Taekwoon could process what was happening a heavy something landed on his lap. He didn’t need to look to confirm what it was.

“There ya go, love,” Hyunsu drawled back to standing in front of Taekwoon “ _Bon appétite_.”

His stomach turned itself on his head at the smell of fresh human blood. It’s been decades since Taekwoon last drank the blood of a human and only because he was a new-born and didn’t know what else to do. Once he’d gotten a grip on himself, he’d turned to animals – given, their blood didn’t have the same quality as a human but Taekwoon just couldn’t kill another person ever again – but nowadays not even that was necessary. Science was so far along that they managed to invent a liquid that mimicked all the attributes of human blood while being produced in laboratories and factories. They even added in some extra Vitamin D after finding out that that’s mostly what Vampires needed to keep their bodies going. Not exactly surprising seeing as they couldn’t just go into the sun to get their Vitamins.

But that’s not the point. Right now, the point is that there was a human body in his lap covered in blood and a very faint heartbeat. All of his instincts coming back with the bloodlust screamed at him to just go for it. To tear them open and suck them dry. They wouldn’t live long anyway, already on the brink of death as they were. All they had to do was knock on deaths door and disappear into the light. Taekwoon could even help them.

“Come on now, don’t be such a party pooper.” Hyunsu’s voice was not helping, only further aggravating Taekwoon’s frazzled nerves. “I brought her in just for you, even made it easier for you to access her blood. Poor thing was so very scared, probably still is. Don’t you want to end her suffering? She’s not getting out here anyway. Either you use the chance and feed on her, or we’ll just keep her for our entertainment. Sujin is very talented in keeping them alive for however long we wish.”

At one point Hyunsu’s voice had merged with the primal urge inside Taekwoon. They were right, weren’t they? She was weak and hurting. Taekwoon was a police officer, wasn’t he? Wasn’t it his task to keep others from suffering? It was so easy, and he could even still his hunger. Get his power back and rip those fuckers to shreds and-

There was a blank between one moment and the next as delicious, warm liquid flooded his mouth. He tried to bite the soft flesh in front of him and get more of this precious taste, but his fangs wouldn’t latch on. Blood was dripping out of the shallow wound, but it wasn’t enough. Taekwoon needed more! _MORE_! With an animalistic grunt Taekwoon tore out chunks of flesh and finally got a steady stream of this red fuel. It was heaven for his mangled body and a peaceful calm spread through his mind now that his thirst was finally being given attention.

As soon as it came though the body was ripped out from under him. Taekwoon raged and tore at his shackles as he saw his source of blood being taken away. _He wasn’t finished! He-_

A piercing laugh tore into his lust addled brain and with a painful stab Taekwoon came back into the here and now. The damp prison cell came back into focus and with a sudden clarity he realized what just happened.

“I always knew you were a monster,” the demon mocked with a haughty drawl.

Taekwoon lurched to the side and promptly vomited up all the blood he’d just digested to the great amusement of Hyunsu.

“You’re not really cleaver, are you? That was a gift to help you stay strong so we can have a lot more fun with you but if you don’t want it, you should have said so. At least then we wouldn’t have to sacrifice a perfectly fine toy.”

When he did nothing more than dry heave Taekwoon leaned back against the wall to stare at the ceiling. He couldn’t look down. Not when he knew about all the blood clinging to the floor and his body. The ceiling was safe. Nothing there that clashed with his morals, just watching the mold growing and water dripping down from it. Hyunsu entered his line of sight again with how he was looming over Taekwoon’s slumped body. 

“What’s wrong, Taekwoon? Are you sulking? I’m sorry but we couldn’t let you drink everything. Wouldn’t want you at your full power in here. It’d take away all our fun. But tell me,” Hyunsu drawled, his disgusting breath assaulting Taekwoon’s senses, “did you notice something off?”

Taekwoon ignored him and continued to stare at the ceiling.

“Let me show you,” the demon said as he tried to pry Taekwoon’s mouth open. It was a fight that Taekwoon ultimately lost and that alone was almost enough to throw up again. Hyunsu’s dirty finger moved over Taekwoon’s teeth from the back to the front until his finger dipped and a stinging pain shot through Taekwoon’s gums where his fangs should be.

“Did you feel that? No? Here let me do it again.” This time the pressure increased. It took every ounce of self-control Taekwoon had accumulated through the year to not scream at the assault of his tender flesh. He could feel it now. All of his four fangs were gone, ripped out of their socket, leaving behind a raw piece of flesh. Free space for Hyunsu to poke and prod at however long he desired. It was a blessing that Vampires couldn’t cry. He did not want to grant the bastard that satisfaction. His body wasn’t as resilient as his mind though and with every press of Hyunsu’s finger into the sensitive gums his body spasmed with barely concealed pain.

Hyunsu had the time of his life, if his laugh was anything to go by. “A Vampire without fangs isn’t that hilarious?! It was such a delight to see the frustration built up as you couldn’t properly bite into her. And once you lost it and just tore a chunk of flesh right out of her throat? That was _poetic cinema_!”

The memories came up again and Taekwoon couldn’t suppress a gag. At least it was enough to dislodged Hyunsu’s fingers from his mouth. The demon seemingly satisfied for the moment at finally having gotten a reaction out of Taekwoon.

“Alright, as much as I would love to continue, I still have a business to take care of so I’ll be leaving you alone for now. I’m sure you’ve got enough on your mind to kill your time.”

Taekwoon watched as Hyunsu disappeared and teleported over to be in front of the fairy again.

With a bruising grip on his chin he forced the fairy to make eye contact with him. The blood from Taekwoon’s battered gums mixed with that of Hakyeon.

“You should probably use that time to reflect on what you’re gonna tell us. We won’t be so nice next time around.”

And with that both demons disappeared in a cloud of shadows.

Silence reigned over the place for a long time, after the devil’s children had left, which Taekwoon used to centre himself. It wouldn’t do for him to lose himself like that again. While he did throw up the consumed blood, his body had been fast in absorbing the necessary parts to satisfy Taekwoon’s thirst. It helped in setting his mind straight. That was, until he heard the quiet sobs from the other occupant of the room. 

“You alright?”

It was a stupid question, Taekwoon knew that but it was the only thing that came to mind. He hated other people crying and wasn’t exactly the best when it came to consoling them.

The sobs halted before the fairy turned to look at him and shook his head. He had a complete and utterly devastated look plastered to his face and it pulled at Taekwoon's heartstrings.

“I'd like to say yes, but I just can't anymore…  
What-- What about you-” his sentence ended with another cough that resulted in more blood dripping from his mouth onto the floor.

“Could be- could be better.  
How- … How long have-have you-… been he-re…?”

Honestly, Taekwoon couldn't remember a time when speaking had put such a strain on his body.

“...Six days…?”

Fuck but that was long. It was a wonder that they hadn’t already lost patience with him and killed him. Whatever they wanted it was important. But then again, Fairies were quite rare. Might as well keep him… Or what was more likely was that they just loved torturing the poor thing. It was in their shared history. During a time where everyone still coexisted next to each other. Until everyone decided to take advantage of the fairies’ pure souls, especially the demon. Taekwoon absolutely detested that particular part about their history.

“What do they want from you?”

Another cough from the fairy this time though without blood, which could be a good or bad sign.

“The Ring of Origins...”

“That's what they're … searching…?” Of course, that’s what they’re after. Taekwoon should have figured it out himself.

“Yes,” he rasped as answer, letting his head hang low, “But I can't tell them, even if I wanted to.”

“What-  
What do you mean…?” Taekwoon wanted to know, his voice breaking slightly from the lack of power.

“None of us know it’s exact location,” the silver-haired took a lung full of air, “We just _know_ where it is.”

Alright, Taekwoon’s brain was too exhausted to figure that one out. The fairy luckily noticed his confusion and tried to explain.

“It’s hard to describe… I couldn’t tell anyone where it is hidden but if I’d ever need it in an emergency I would _know_ where it is. Like…” the fairy wet his lips as he tried to find the right word. “Instinct? That’s- That’s probably the most- accurate description…”

Taekwoon could work with that for now. The fairy didn’t seem to even know what he was talking about himself.

"I just want to go home...” It was spoken in such a desperation that Taekwoon who _never_ did that, wanted to just take him into his arms and tell him that everything would be alright, but he couldn't even move one muscle, much less free himself and get to the man. So he tried something else.

“What’s your name?”

“Hakyeon,” the fairy sniffed as a few lone tears rolled over his cheeks.

“That’s a nice name,” Taekwoon retorted with a gentle smile as he locked eyes with the Hakyeon. “I’m Jung Taekwoon.”

“Taekwoon…”

“That’s right. Don’t worry Hakyeon,” he said as reassuring as possible, “I’m a police officer. My squad knows that I’ve been captured. Pretty sure they’re working their asses off to find us.”

Something akin to hope flashed up in Hakyeon’s eyes. “Do you promise?”

“I promise.”

And that was the truth. Taekwoon would go through hell and back for every single one of his teammates and he’s certain that they’d do the same for him.

“It’s just a matter of time until we’re out of here, yeah?

“That would be nice,” Hakyeon said in a dreamy voice as his eyes seemed to lose focus.

“Why don’t you try and get some sleep, hm?”

Hakyeon just shook his head defiantly trying to fight against his falling lids. “’m scared…”

God but this was horrible. It would be easier if they were in the same cell but like this he couldn’t do anything except-

He started humming a lullaby his mother always used on him when he was scared.

It didn’t take long until the fairy drifted off into the realm of dreams. Hopefully he’d be blessed with a restful sleep and not be plagued by nightmares. If there really was a god out there, please just grant him that one wish. Let Hakyeon sleep in peace so he’d survive whatever would be thrown at him.

“We’re gone get out of here,” Taekwoon whispered into the silence, “I promise.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: MIND THE TAGS!!! 
> 
> There is a lot of physical description of violence as well as a fair amount of torture. But it's also going to be the last one of it's kind. Mind you, the following Chapters won't be all happy go lucky but no more torture at least. 
> 
> With that being said, have fun reading ;D

They got left alone for a whole day and once both had had some much needed rest, they started to get to know each other better. Well, Hakyeon had decided that and Taekwoon just went along with it in hopes of lifting the others spirit.

The fairy told him many things about his life. About his favourite places form his homeworld; his best friends Minhyuk and Hongbin, who will most probably punch him for being so careless; the fact that he was the fairy kings fucking _son_ and how worried his mother would be right now.

As if it wasn’t hard enough to stumble upon a fairy, Hyunsu and his gang of bastards had managed to capture the _king’s son_. What where the fucking odds of that happening?!

Taekwoon didn’t voice his thoughts on the topic. Hakyeon himself had no clue how he’d stumbled into their world or how the demons could find him. No, the fairy was blaming himself enough as it was, Taekwoon wouldn’t load onto that.

Instead Taekwoon talked about his team-mates; how he got transformed in the 15th centuries and how he came to his current job as police officer. Both of them were weak beyond reason but talking was what kept them sane.

After quite a bit Hakyeon was the only one talking as Taekwoon couldn't find the power anymore seeing as he had to put most of his focus into keeping his carvings down and controlled. Thus, he opted to just listen to one of the seemingly endless stories from the fairy. When it wasn’t distorted by pain, Taekwoon really enjoyed Hakyeon’s voice. It wasn't like anything he had ever heard. The sentences that were being spoken sounded more like the verses of a soothing melody. He could listen to it for ages.

Everything started to go downhill though once Hyunsu and his underlings arrived again.

“Now little fairy, are you ready to talk? Or shall Jinho continue torturing you?”

Between broken sobs and heavy breaths, the fairy managed to croak out a weak, “I can't tell you.”

“You know, I had hoped for you to say that,” Hyunsu sneered, a devilish grin plastered to his face, that surely couldn't mean anything good. He had to intervene before they went too far.

“Leave him alone Hyunsu!”

The demon in question glanced over at Taekwoon before teleporting right in front of him.

“Or what?” Hyunsu wove his hand through Taekwoon’s hair, scraping the scalp with his nails almost as if he was trying to scratch it off before grabbing a fistful of hair and tugging it up. The sudden move jostled Taekwoon’s broken wrist and made him painfully aware of the missing fangs as he ground his teeth together. A waft of Hyunsu’s rotten breath hit Taekwoon full force at the vicinity of their faces. “You gonna arrest me? Hurt me? I don’t know if you noticed but you’re not in a position to threaten me.”

As much as it hurt, Taekwoon had to admit that he had a point. Taekwoon was at such a severe disadvantage that it was almost comical, but he just couldn’t let all their attention rest on Hakyeon. So Taekwoon did the only thing he could think of to draw Hyunsu’s ire: He spat him right in the face.

At once the grip in his hair loosened as Hyunsu stumbled back with a laugh. Not exactly the reaction Taekwoon had aimed for.

“You’re a feral little beast down in your rotten core, just like all of your kin,” the demon mumbled with a grin and whipped the spit of his face.

“The only thing that’s rotten are you bastards.”

“ _Oh no_ ,” Hyunsu exclaimed with fake fright, “I’m so scared. Why don’t you just lay down like the piece of shit you are? Here, I’ll _help_ _you_.”

Before Taekwoon could realize it, his face was slammed painfully into the floor by Hyunsu’s foot.

“That’s better, just where you belong.” With his foot firmly lodged on Taekwoon’s face he kneeled down with a sigh. “But as fun as all of this may be, I’m here for a reason. Come on fairy boy tell me what I want to hear.”

Hakyeon just shook his head in defeat. “How many times do I have to-“ A sharp slap interrupted his sentence.

“Depends on how many times you want me to hit you,” Jinho sneered in his face and gave Hakyeon another slap. Taekwoon couldn’t help but flinch at the resulting cry.

Above him he heard Hyunsu sigh. “I don’t think we’re getting anywhere with that Jinho. Let’s try something else”

With a snap of his fingers another Demon came forward, probably Seon if Taekwoon got the looks right. They freed Hakyeon from his shackles, just to pin him back into place moments after. This time though with his front pressed against the stone wall allowing his wings to spread to their full height and _damn_ but they were even more impressive like this.

“Your wings,” Hyunsu stated as Seon and Jinho started tracing the wings with their fingers, “they look quite exquisite. Is it true what they say about their sensitivity?”

A layer of cold sweat suddenly broke out over Hakyeon’s face and Taekwoon could literally feel the fright rising in Hakyeon.

“P-P-Please-Please...” A weak scream followed the fairy’s pleas, as the demons hand had grabbed the wing a bit tighter.

“You know Taekwoon,” Hyunsu’s voice took on that disgusting velvet quality with which Demon’s usually lured innocent souls into their certain death, “I’ve once read this book, more like a diary to be honest. Pretty old thing. Written _years_ before that whole uprising shit. Want to see what interesting things I’ve learnt from it?”

Taekwoon did not. He hated the direction this was going.

“I’ll just take your silence as a yes,” he answered in glee and motioned for the two other demons. “Take it away boys!”

Taekwoon watched as Jinho and Seon positioned their hands right at the base of Hakyeon’s wings and started pushing down.

A scream unlike anything ripped through Hakyeon’s tattered vocal cords as his beautiful wings were pushed down. Hakyeon struggled and shouted and pleaded but nothing dislodged the demon’s hands. If anything, they just kept on pushing down harder and with one final push they broke like a twig as they shattered into pieces like glass. The sound was overshadowed by Hakyeon’s bloodcurdling scream. He thrashed around, tears and snot dripping down his delicate, by pain distorted, face.

Satisfied with their work the demons leaned back and thoroughly enjoyed Hakyeon’s pain, their laughs mixing with his cries for mercy. Taekwoon felt sick to his core but he couldn’t and wouldn’t take his eyes off the scene. If Hakyeon had to suffer, Taekwoon would not look away. He would let the scene burn itself into his mind and suffer through it just like Hakyeon, because right now that was the only thing he could do.

It was over as fast as it happened. Hakyeon’s body sagged in on itself held up only by the chains on his wrists. They cut painfully into those delicate wrists reopening healed wounds and Taekwoon watched as a drip of blood slowly made its way down Hakyeon’s arm.

Taekwoon was brought back by the satisfied hum of Hyunsu’s voice. “Mhm, that was an absolute delight.” Taekwoon gagged. He could literally smell the arousal on all three demons.

“It took quite a bit out of our little friend though. Don’t think he’ll be answering questions very soon,” Seon mumbled in a trance not even hiding the fact that he was rubbing himself through his trousers.

“How long does it take for them to grow back? Two days? Three?” Jinho asked without averting his gaze from Hakyeon’s sobbing form. “We can just try it again.”

The weight pressing down Taekwoon’s head disappeared at the same time Hyunsu reappeared at Hakyeon’s side. With one quick grip he snatched a tuft of Hakyeon’s hair and turned his face so he could look in his eyes. 

“Did you hear that little prince?”

Hakyeon just whimpered but Taekwoon could see the tiniest sliver of colour light up from beneath lowered lashes.

“We’ll wait until your pretty, pretty wings grow back. Then you’ll get another chance to tell us where the Ring is, or we’ll just repeat the process over and over and over again.”

Taekwoon shuddered at the thought of this never-ending nightmare. Hakyeon didn’t even seem to understand by the emptiness of his eyes.

“It’s your choice really. Even though I’d prefer to repeat this. Your face is so pretty when you scream.”

The demon came even closer and licked a broad streak over Hakyeon’s cheek. It was a testament to how far gone the fairy was as he didn’t even react.

“Your tears are delicious, I’m looking forward to more.”

And with a howling laugh the three demons disappeared in a big cloud of smoke.

“Hakyeon,” Taekwoon asked into the oppressive silence.

No reaction.

“They’re going to find us. We’ll get out of here, I promise.”

Nothing.

“I’m sorry.”

Silence.

Taekwoon did not sleep that day. Or the next. Or the one after that. Hakyeon was barely conscious anymore at first. He tried talking to the fairy but never got a response. The only sign that he was still alive was the beating heart and the empty eyes that would sometimes blink down at him.

After day one the demons came back to check on their prisoners. They pried and prodded at Hakyeon’s battered body but there was barely a response. Quickly losing interest, they obviously turned on Taekwoon. At this point though nothing could really hurt him anymore. Not like the pain of Hakyeon’s screams did.

That didn’t mean he held back his cries of agony. They wanted pain, alright Taekwoon would give them that. Everything to keep them off Hakyeon. He screamed as the holy water burnt his skin off drip by drip. They broke his wrist again and Taekwoon left them with all the agony radiating through his body. Taekwoon fought back as well. He couldn’t make it too easy for them. Hyunsu told him he liked it when his prey struggled so Taekwoon gave him struggle. It was a cycle of unending pain but Taekwoon soldiered on.

When they were gone Taekwoon bit through the pain and talked to Hakyeon. He still didn’t get any response, not that it mattered. He knew Hakyeon hated silence from their talks the previous days. So, despite the fact that Hakyeon was unconscious most of the time Taekwoon talked to him, even though it got harder by the hour.

Keeping up with all that torture was taking so much out of him and the bloodlust was well on its way to recapture Taekwoon’s mind. He wouldn’t die from it, but he could fall prey to insanity. Back in the day, when science hadn’t been as advanced as nowadays, he saw a few vampires succumb to this insanity and go on killing sprees, working their way through whole villages with the only cure being death, a feat not made easy for vampires. 

On the second day – Taekwoon was pretty good at counting time – Hakyeon’s wings slowly began to grow back. With them a bit of life returned to Hakyeon’s body step by step. It also resulted in him becoming responsive to pain again. The fairy groaned and whined in pain, but it never lasted long before he was under again. At one point he even managed to respond to some of Taekwoon’s questions with one-word sentences.

Hyunsu came back as well but again, Taekwoon managed to hold their whole attention. He also noticed a certain rigidness to Hyunsu’s stance. He didn’t even torture Taekwoon himself and instead let his underlings have a go at him. Despite everything they’d do to him, Taekwoon didn’t lose focus on Hyunsu. The demon’s eyes rested on Taekwoon, but his mind seemed miles and miles away. Something was troubling him. Taekwoon hoped it was because his friends were finally poking in the right places, ruffling some demon feathers.

On day three Hakyeon’s wings were back to their predecessor’s beauty and he even managed to take off the pressure from his wrists by standing on his own legs again. Hakyeon was a fighter. He was a fairy after all. They took enough shit from everyone centuries ago. During _The Uprising_ they made sure that no one would ever trample over them and use them to their pleasure. They became vicious and cold and ruthless in killing those that treated them wrong. They were singlehandedly responsible for banishing the demons back to the dark hole they’d crawled out from, ridding them off the cruel reign the demons had brought over their world. It was obvious that Hakyeon would fight back.

But even a fairy could only take so much.

“Where the fuck is it?!” Hyunsu demanded, his voice having lost all pretense of having fun, as his foot connected with Hakyeon’s stomach.

Taekwoon had been right. Something was pushing Hyunsu in a corner and like a wild animal he was snapping back. All his frustration went into hurting Hakyeon, he didn’t even give Taekwoon the chance to defend him. The moment they entered, Jinho made quick work of gagging Taekwoon before leaving to join the others in Hakyeon’s cell. They’d released Hakyeon from his shackles and let him slam into the floor. At least one – possibly both – of his shoulders was dislocated and it pushed a scream out of Hakyeon as the appendage made contact with the unforgiving stone floor.

And that’s how they ended up in this situation, Taekwoon gagged and chained to the wall and Hakyeon on the floor at the mercy of Hyunsu’s rage.

“Fucking tell me!”

“Please…” Hakyeon croaked out but it ended in another bloodcurdling scream and a sickening crunch as Hyunsu stomped right onto Hakyeon’s left ankle. He was just in the process to repeat his action on the right ankle when suddenly a new demon appeared out of seemingly nowhere.

“Boss! They’re pushing through!”

 _YES!_ Taekwoon’s mind screamed in joy. They found them. He could get Hakyeon out of here.

An inhuman shriek passed through Hyunsu’s body. “You fucking idiots! What _can_ you even do right?! It was one task! _One simple fucking task_!”

“They-“

In the blink of a moment the demon found herself chocking at the hands of Hyunsu, his voice seething with malice. “Do you think I give a shit about your feeble excuses you incompetent fucking cunts?!”

Just a little longer. Taekwoon needed Hyunsu to rage just a little longer. If he kept on going like this, they’d be able to get in-

“Boss,” Jinho tried to be the voice of reason, “he won’t give the location away. We tried everything. If we don’t get out of here, we’ll never get the chance to find the Ring!”

Still choking the messenger Hyunsu took a couple of deep breaths and took a moment to assess the situation.

 _Please, just a bit longer!_ They couldn’t get away with this. Not after all the horrible things they put Hakyeon through, they just couldn’t.

Hyunsu released the female demon and left her coughing on the floor as he grabbed Hakyeon and hauled him up by the damaged shoulders and forced him onto his knees.

“I’m going to find it, even if I have to tear the whole world apart,” he growled menacingly, “and when I do I’ll capture every one of your little fucker friends and rip their wings out one after the other and you’ll be the first one.”

Hakyeon’s eyes widened and Taekwoon watched pure, unadulterated fear flare to life as Jinho and Seon moved behind him and each grabbed one of Hakyeon’s wings at the base.

 _No_. No they couldn’t put Hakyeon through this again. Please no. Yes, he prayed for more time but not like _this_. Not at the cost of Hakyeon’s pain. He pulled and pushed against the restraints shouting his soul out for them to stop or maybe even for someone to find them. To no avail. The gag was securely strapped around his neck. No sound would be loud enough to pass through the thick stone walls.

“Any last words?”

Taekwoon’s eyes locked with Hakyeon’s one last time as his gaze went past Hyunsu. The beautiful chocolate brown from the first time was clouded by tears, fear and hopelessness and Taekwoon watched as his lips moved without any sound passing through them: _Help me._

And then it happened. One sickening sound of Hakyeon’s wings being torn out of flesh was all it took for the most painful scream he had ever heard. Taekwoon thought the one from three days ago was bad? Well that one was at least a hundred times worse.

In his hundred years of existence and work as a police officer he had heard many screams. Screams of fear, of happiness, of sadness, of desperation, but never one that was filled to the brink with such a level of gruesome pain. If Taekwoon wasn’t in the same room, he would like to believe it was someone else’s voice and not that fragile thing produced by Hakyeon’s throat. His voice wasn't meant for screaming or ever being rudimentary in pain. Yet her it was, settling itself into the vampires very core and making his bones clatter.

As sudden as it came it stopped. Not three seconds later Hakyeon’s body went slack and flopped forward as Hyunsu let go of his shoulders. Taekwoon’s stomach churned in all the different direction. Where once a pair of beautiful, majestic, multicoloured wings rested were now two long gashes drowning in blood. God, there was so much _blood_. Not like the first time where he could still see the stumps of Hakyeon’s wings. He didn’t even notice the demons leaving. All he could see was the deep red flowing out of Hakyeon’s back, his ears still ringing from the horrific scream. Taekwoon gagged but seeing as the gag was still there everything just flowed out to the sides dripping down his chin.   
  


At the edge of his vision Taekwoon noticed a group of blurry figures enter the room but his focus stayed on Hakyeon. He knew by the smell and sound of their voices that they were here to rescue them. They’d get out of this fucking hole and get Hakyeon somewhere safe and sound. Taekwoon was determined to take care of him. How could he not after that last silent plea? Taekwoon would protect him, because Jung Taekwoon never left anything, he’s set his eyes on. Come hell or high water, Taekwoon would face it for Hakyeon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty! Who's been waiting for the next chapter? I know I was ^^'   
> Sorry it took so long again. I wrote like three different versions of this one because nothing seemed to fit. I'm quite content with this one though so I hope you'll like it as well. 
> 
> If you do, please leave some Kudos, comments or whatnot. That would make my day! *_* 
> 
> Have fun! ^w^

“Okay just to be clear,” Jaehwan began repeating what Taekwoon had told him, eyes never leaving the road, “he’s a fucking fairy that got caught by those demons, because they want this ominous _Ring of Origins_ , but he couldn't tell them, because of reasons we’re not yet sure about and therefore they ripped his wings out?”

With a nod Taekwoon agreed and continued to empty his third blood bag of the day.

Taekwoon had finally come around by the time he’d emptied the first blood bag. The paramedics where urging him to take a look at his wrist and stuff but Taekwoon declined. He wanted their whole attention on Hakyeon. He could wait until they were at the hospital. Thus they situated Hakyeon in the ambulance and – despite this sudden uncanny feeling bubbling up in him at the thought of being separated from the fairy – Taekwoon was shoved into the police car that would take them to the hospital as well. That’s also where Taekwoon gave Jaehwan a short recap of what happened.

“That’s so fucking sick. I mean I read about some of the things demons have done to fairies in the past, but you know, somehow I always hoped it was, I don’t know… maybe a bit exaggerated…?”

A sentiment that Taekwoon agreed to with a grunt, his clammy hands trying to squeeze out every last drop of the blood bag. Most information about the fairy’s oppression by demons had been lost with the _Uprising_. All that was left were horror tales about slavery, forced cannibalism and even worse things. After what he’d witnessed the past days though, Taekwoon was sure that didn’t even scratch the surface of what fairies had to suffer through. One more reason to keep them from multiplying.

“Geeze… how are you doing by the way?” Jaehwan asked, keeping an eye on Taekwoon in his peripheral view. “Feel any better now?”

He did. Now that his body finally had some fuel to work on it wasted no time in fixing all the broken bits. New skin rested over the patches burnt by holy water, bruised bones stopped hurting, cuts and wounds mended themselves and his wrist was setting itself back together. Not an entirely pleasant experience to feel the bones grow back together but a necessary evil. The only thing missing where his fangs. His body had an inhuman healing factor, but it couldn’t regrow stuff. Set broken bones sure but replace missing bones or teeth that wasn’t part of the deal.

It didn’t matter anyway. Not like Taekwoon needed them for sucking blood anyway. He could just get some transplants for the gaps and be done with. No big deal. At least not as big a deal as Hakyeon missing his wings. Seriously, Taekwoon hoped they’d just grow back again, like the first time but he had an inkling that wouldn’t be the case. Not with all the blood. There wasn’t any blood the first-time round. Hyunsu’s lackeys had done something more than just rip Hakyeon’s wings off.

Taekwoon’s train of thought was promptly cut off when Jaehwan announced their arrival at the hospital. The car had barely stopped and Taekwoon was already out and on his way to Hakyeon. The paramedics – one of them Yang Seungho, a good friend of Taekwoon’s – were just rolling out the stretcher upon which Hakyeon rested belly down. What worried Taekwoon was the pained grimace on Hakyeon’s face as their eyes locked. With medical supplies at the ready that shouldn’t be the case, right? Hakyeon was supposed to be free of pain. His lips formed Taekwoon’s name, but nothing came out. Rushing to the fairy’s side Taekwoon took quick hold of Hakyeon’s hand and mumbled, “I’m here.” And it just felt right as their hands slotted together. The nagging fear at the back of Taekwoon’s head simmered down into a clam zen and the world almost felt right again, had it not been for Hakyeon’s discomfort.

“We have no idea what to do,” the paramedic replied as Taekwoon turned hopeful eyes on Seungho. “We’ve tried painkillers which seemed to work at first but not even a minute later he’s writhing in pain again.”

As the trio rolled Hakyeon through the emergency entrance, Seungho’s colleague stopped by the head nurses’ desk but Taekwoon didn’t pay enough attention. Hakyeon’s moans of pain grew louder and even more pitiful by the second.

“What about the wounds?” They were still bleeding. Maybe not as heavy as before but Taekwoon didn’t know if that was a good sign.

“We tried treating them but without painkillers it’s sheer impossible to keep him still. Also, it’s not like anything I’ve seen before,” Seungho admitted with a grimace as they stormed through the hospital. “Their anatomy doesn’t seem to match with ours. Let’s pray we at least find a matching blood type for him. I have no idea how much blood their body produces but he’s lost _way_ too much already for my taste…”

They rolled into an examination room just as one of the doctors entered, followed by a nurse. 

“Are you joking?!” Ok Joohyun was a treasure to the world. She was as talented as beautiful and simply one of Taekwoon’s oldest friends. Long brown hair and such an open and friendly face. Her whole persona just radiated warmth and safety making her a splendid Doctor. Taekwoon trusted her with his life and now with Hakyeon’s as well. “You disappear once, _once_ , and come back with a _fairy_? I swear, you and your friends, have a knack for the impossible without even trying half of the time…”

Well she wasn’t wrong there. Their cases usually start as harmless everyday things and then just spiral out of control. Most of the times they weren’t even on duty. Their work just liked to follow them.

Joohyun shook her head with a sigh and moved over to Hakyeon with the grace only a water nymph could possess. “Alright, let’s see what we can do here… Sunggyu caught me up on the basics. Did you get a blood sample?”

Seungho nodded.

“Good, go and take it down to the labs. They need to check whether any of the blood we have is compatible with his.”

Not losing another second the paramedic disappeared.

“What’s his name again?”

“Hakyeon.”

Joohyun nodded and Taekwoon watched as she crouched down to be on eye level with her patient.

“Hakyeon? Can you hear me?”

“Please…!” The word was pressed out between tightly clenched teeth followed by another moan of pain. “Hurts…!”

“I know this is hard for you, but I need you to listen to me, alright?” There was a tiny almost unperceivable nod and Joohyun continued. “I’ve heard that normal painkillers don’t seem to last very long. We’re going to give you some of the strongest we have and then I need you to tell me how we can best help you, yes?”

Another nod.

Joohyun motioned for the nurse in the room to inject some kind of liquid into Hakyeon’s IV. Taekwoon prayed to every entity out there that it would work. Hakyeon’s suffered enough, right?

His prayers seemed to have been heard and Taekwoon watched as Hakyeon’s eyes closed with relieve, his taut muscles slowly relaxing.

“Okay Hakyeon, we don’t know how long this will keep the pain at bay,” Joohyun stated in her serious business voice but not with any lesser amount of sympathy. “Is there anything specific that could help you?”

Hakyeon’s eyes were still closed as a contented sigh left his body but he shook his head. “You need to get Hongbin…”

“Hongbin?”

“He knows everything. Like he’s _really_ smart, but don’t tell him that. It’ll just fuel his ego,” he answered almost dreamily, probably relishing in the feeling of being pain-free for the first time in days.

“I’m pretty sure he’s another fairy,” Taekwoon readily supplied seeing as Hakyeon wasn’t making too much sense. “Hakyeon told me about him. They are best friends as far as I can remember.”

Joohyun gave a slow nod. “And where can we find this Hongbin?”

And here Hakyeon hesitated, something weighing heavy on his mind. Taekwoon could kind of imagine what that something was. He gave Joohyun a sign to let him squat next to Hakyeon and he watched as a sudden light entered the fairy’s eyes. It was barely there but for a moment Taekwoon could have sworn they flashed orange. Shaking off the strange vision Taekwoon took Hakyeon’s hand in between his gentle grip.

“You can tell us, Hakyeon. I swear on my _life_ that we won’t share anything about your home world, okay? We just want to help you get better, that is all.”

“Promise?”

Taekwoon nodded as he placed a gentle hand on Hakyeon’s cheek. “I promise. Just let us help you.”

The fairy’s eyes closed at the touch and a deep sigh left his body before gazing back at Taekwoon. “You need to find one of the _Watcher Points_. It’s located in the Silent Forest, right in the middle of a huge clearing with a lake and a single oak tree on its shore.” His brow’s pinched together as his voice became strained again. “You won’t see anyone but the Watchers will hear you, nonetheless. Ask for Hongbin and explain what happened and that I need his help. Probably best if you take one of my earrings.”

Hakyeon’s explanation was interrupted by a pained cry, his whole body tensing up as he held Taekwoon’s hand in a death grip. Not that the vampire minded, especially if it helped with the pain which Hakyeon was desperately fighting if the expression in his face was anything to go by. Taekwoon absolutely hated to see the other like this, it made him sick to just think about Hakyeon’s discomfort. It was almost scary how deep Hakyeon had gotten under his skin in a matter of days. But there wasn’t time to think about this. Taekwoon averted his gaze to Jaehwan who had been listening just as intently as the other occupants of the room. He couldn’t fault them for it really. There was so little known about fairies. Hearing what Hakyeon was talking about was nothing less than a revelation.

“Jaehwan?”

“Here!”

“Take Sanghyuk and get Hongbin here as fast as possible.”

Taekwoon would have preferred to go himself but he couldn’t just leave Hakyeon alone. Firstly, because he didn’t want to and secondly because there was something inside him almost forbidding him to leave. And while Jaehwan and Sanghyuk could be quite childish at times they knew when to be serious and get the job done. Also, Jaehwan was a chatty person from nature, a fact that could only help them win over the fairy’s trust.

“Will do!” Jaehwan answered with a mock salute and expectantly held out his hand. Right, the earring.

Prying his hands out of Hakyeon’s death grip he retrieved the gem hanging from the fairy’s earlobe. At least Taekwoon thought it was a gem, not that he’d ever seen anything similar in his life. The small stud resting in his hand barely weighed anything and simmered in the prettiest colours of the rainbow, almost like Hakyeon’s- wings… A sudden sadness overcame Taekwoon, but he shook it off again and handed the piercing over to Jaehwan who was just as impressed with the little stone as Taekwoon when he first saw Hakyeon’s wings.

“Be careful,” Taekwoon emphasized and went back to gently massaging Hakyeon’s hand which had gone white from how hard he’d clenched it into a fist. Poor thing.

“We’ll be back in no time.”

“Wait!” Hakyeon’s voice halted Jaehwan just as the vampire was about to hurry out. “There is a- possibility that they’ll attack you,” Hakyeon managed to croak out in between gasps and laboured breathing. “Don’t- Don’t fight back, please.”

Jaehwan’s eyebrows went right up into his hairline. “Uh what?”

“It’s too much to explain now... They won’t seriously injure you if you don’t fight back. Just- please… do what I say.”

“Jaehwan,” Taekwoon warned with a dark stare. They’d wasted enough time as it was already.

“Okay okay, jeez no need for that glare…” Jaehwan exclaimed with an eyeroll and not a second later he was gone. Now all they could do was wait and pray for the best.

* * *

“Found it!”

Sanghyuk flinched at the sheer volume his friend’s voice had reached. “For fucks sake, I’m right next to you!”

“Oh sorry, didn’t see you there,” Jaehwan laughed, thumping Sanghyuk’s shoulder which the younger tried to evade. “I found the clearing.”

Sanghyuk threw a deadpan stare at the other. “You don’t say.”

Milliseconds before Jaehwan’s exclamation they had entered a wide-open space. What else could it have been. The intriguing bit though was that, despite their many wanderings into the Silent Forest, none of them ever came across a place quite like this. When Jaehwan informed him about the clearing Sanghyuk was sure the fairy had confused something. The Silent Forest wasn’t called Silent Forest just because of a passing fancy of some explorer. There was literally no sound in this forest. No wind rustling the leaves or animals running about the place. Not even Dryads or forest Nymphs had made it their home. Just a lot of trees an all-encompassing, oppressive silence and darkness. But not this mystery clearing.

Without the heavy ceiling of trees and leaves the bright, warm rays of the sun managed to illuminate the whole place. It even had a little lake reflecting those same rays to turn them into million tiny diamonds resting on its crystal-clear surface. How had no one ever noticed this? The clearing was laid out with a carpet of lush green gras and all kinds of flowers in every colour imaginable. A soft breeze of air – and wasn’t that just odd behaviour for the Silent Forest – grazed his skin before moving on to rustle the emerald green leaves of the colossal oak tree right beside the lake in the middle of the clearing. It sure was one big boy that tree. Easily twenty times bigger than him and Jaehwan together, with big roots already looming over the surface.

“ _That_ is what I call a tree,” Jaehwan gaped to his left and Sanghyuk couldn’t help but agree.

“How is it possible that we’ve never seen this fellow?”

“Magic?”

“Either that or we’re super blind…”

They advanced further in, still admiring the clearing and taking in every detail.

“ _So_ ,” Sanghyuk started, not taking his eyes away from his surroundings, “how are we gonna do this exactly?”

“Hmm?”

“Finding this guy? For Hakyeon?”

“Ah yes, almost forgot!” As if coming out of a trance Jaehwan snapped his gaze away from the glittering surface of the lake. That thought didn’t quite sit well with him. When had Jaehwan gotten so close to the lake? A cold shower ran down his spine. All of a sudden, this place seemed almost _too_ beautiful.

“According to Hakyeon we’re supposed to just like talk, I think?”

“You _think_?”

“Hey it’s not like he gave precise instructions, alright,” Jaehwan was quick to point out. “He just told us to take his piercing, come here, ask for this Hongbin guy and don’t fight back if they attack.”

“Hm okay well how about- wait… What do you mean attack?”

As if summoned, Sanghyuk watched as a weirdly shaped sing glowed up on the oak trees trunk before it was broken apart by a crack. The sing was soon swallowed up by a blindingly bright light as the crack grew farther and farther in size. At one point Sanghyuk had to close his eyes and turn away in pain. They may not burn in the sun anymore like their ancestors thanks to science but that didn’t mean that their eyes weren’t sensitive. And this light hurt even with eyes closed and turned away from it. There was also a strange kind of energy surrounding him but really what was most important was for this fucking light to turn off. Somewhere to his left he heard Jaehwan hiss, no doubt just as bothered.

With all that to focus on Sanghyuk did not expect the knee that was currently in the process of impaling him. Caught off guard he couldn’t do anything besides crumbling in on himself in pain but it didn’t stop there. Sanghyuk didn’t even have to crash into the floor on his own. No, instead a heavy rod was slammed right down his back pushing him into the not-so-lush-anymore gras. At least the strange static energy had gone, and his eyes didn’t feel like they were trying to burn themselves out of his skull, so it was safe to open his eyes again. Indeed, there was no more gras were he rested on the floor, instead it was replaced by dry, hard dirt.

A trap.

“God damnit,” Sanghyuk grumbled at his ignorance. They never found this place because it never actually existed at least not as shining as they had seen only moments ago.

“I told you already! We are not- _would you just stop hitting me for a damn second?_ ”

_Jaehwan!_

Sanghyuk’s head snapped to where Jaehwan’s bitching was coming from and was met with the grim face of a stranger with fire like red hair.

“Where are you keeping him?”

The bright almost musical voice threw Sanghyuk for a moment. It did _not_ match with the face currently glaring daggers into him. Apparently, the stranger did not approve of Sanghyuk’s confused silence if the way his arm was suddenly pulled up behind his back was anything to go by. Damn, usually it was him putting others in that hold.

“Why-“ 

“ _Where. Are. You. Keeping. Him_?”

Quick correction: The strangers voice wasn’t only bright and musical but also quite terrifying now that it was spoken right next to his ear.

Another groan left his throat as the fairy – and who else could they be – settled on top of him and pushed his knee into Sanghyuk’s back. Sanghyuk didn’t have a lot of knowledge about fairies, just like everyone else but whatever he had imagined, _this_ wasn’t it. It wasn’t a particularly complicated grip he was held in and there were ways of getting out but Jaehwan’s words resonated in his mind.

_Don’t fight back._

Obviously, they had heard them mention Hakyeon’s name and seeing as he was their _prince_ – god damn their penchant for stumbling over the complicated ones – and currently missing, Sanghyuk could honestly understand their animosity. Sanghyuk would be quick to draw blood as well if two strangers just walked up, talking about his missing friend like it was nothing. Add to this the knowledge that said friend was apparently trapped in a world known for atrocious crimes against their species and voila, angry fairies wrestling you to the ground. Fair game, still not cool.

“Listen, we’re here to-“

“Do not make me ask a third time!”

Sanghyuk winced as his arm was pulled further up. If this hadn’t been such a bizarre situation Sanghyuk might have given the fairy a lesson about proper interrogation etiquette, like not beating up your suspect.

“He’s in the fucking hospital!” He felt the stranger freeze before doubling his grip on Sanghyuk’s wrist.

“What did you do!”

Sanghyuk was just about to explain when another unknown voice interrupted him.

“Let him go, Yunho.”

“ _What_?”

“What?” Alright, Sanghyuk had _not_ expected that.

“You heard me Yunho They are not seeking trouble,” the darker – but no less melodic – voice said and just like that the pressure on his back was gone and his arm free again.

“You okay?” Jaehwan asked appearing at his side, easing him up into a standing position again. He wasn’t actually hurt just a bit sore, so he answered the others question with a nod and proceeded to stretch his mangled arm again. Looking at Jaehwan the other didn’t seem to be any worse off. There was a bruise quickly forming on his cheek, probably from a punch, but with their quickened healing-factor it would be gone in a matter of minutes.

“Sorry about that,” the second stranger said, almost sounding like he meant it, “we’re a bit on edge at the moment.”

“Yeah no problem. Us vampires are quite a sturdy bunch,” Jaehwan replied with his natural cheerfulness. Seriously, Jaehwan was the only one who could be happy after being attacked like that.

“Care to explain _why_ we’re letting them go?” Yunho asked with a cutting voice, continuing glaring daggers at Sanghyuk and Jaehwan alike. At least he was hating on both of them equally.

“One of them found Hakyeon and brought him to a hospital but they can’t help him because of their lack of knowledge. Apparently Hakyeon sent them here to get Hongbin.”

“And you believe that?”

“They’ve got Hakyeon’s birth stone,” the stranger answered and displayed Hakyeon’s piercing in his palm.

“Doesn’t prove anything. They could have just taken it.”

“I believe them.”

“Of course, you do. You’re too soft for this job.” The red-haired fairy sighed. “Alright let’s give you the benefit of the doubt. Your luck that Gikwang is here. I’d have killed you without remorse.”

“Yeah I felt that. Thanks for not killing us,” Jaehwan said and held out his hand. “I’m Jaehwan by the way and that’s my partner Sanghyuk.”

“Yunho,” the red-haired fairy answered eyeing them with barely concealed disgust and not making a move to take the proffered hand. Instead Yunho just turned towards Gikwang. “Go and get Hongbin as well as Unit 5.”

“Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

“Just because you trust them doesn’t mean I have to. I’ll not risk anything and especially not Hakyeon’s or our live.”

“Full gear?”

Yunho just raised a sharp eyebrow in answer. Gikwang sighed.

“Full gear. Alright, I’ll be right back.” The fairy turned towards Jaehwan and Sanghyuk, a look of apology written on his face. “Don’t take anything he says personally, his family had a few encounters with vampires that didn’t end well-“

“What the fuck?! That’s none of their business nor is it yours!”

“Oh my, someone’s sensitive today…” Yunho took one step towards Gikwang who quickly threw up his hands in surrender. “Okay okay, chill… Just keep yourself from killing them okay? They are our only chance at finding Hakyeon.”

And with that Gikwang disappeared inside the tree again, an awkward silence reining over the dried out clearing. They had put quite the glamour on the place that not even he could detect. He was a vampire, one of their skills of old was glamouring. It wasn’t exactly legal nowadays but that didn’t keep some from honing the skill. You never knew when it would come in handy. But this also had the added bonus that vampires were immune to other glamours. Not that he had ever met another creature besides them that was able of such a thing.

Sanghyuk was ripped from his thoughts by Yunho’s rough voice. “How did you find Hakyeon?”

“We didn’t,” Jaehwan answered, “our partner Taekwoon found him. Well _found_ is not quite the term I’d use. ‘Found’ implies that you’ve been searching something in the first place and that wasn’t really our goal-”

“What Jaehwan is trying to say,” Sanghyuk interrupted before Yunho was going to punch in his face to stop him from rambling, “We are with the Seoul Police department and one of our missions had to do with a pack of demons going about their shady business.”

The pure look of disgust now openly displayed on Yunho’s face was almost funny if the fairy wouldn’t be holding a fucking lance. Seriously, what was going on? Was that part of the glamour? How had Sanghyuk not noticed the huge pointy stick in Yunho’s hand? This place was driving him crazy.

“During one of our observations we were discovered. Wonshik, one of us, managed to flee and get help but Taekwoon got captured by those Demons. It took us a while to locate them and their hideout but when we did, we not only found Taekwoon but also Hakyeon.”

“Demons…” whispered Yunho, disgust quickly replaced by a look of utter devastation. “He was held captive by demons?”

Sanghyuk nodded. “It took us about a week to find Taekwoon but according to him Hakyeon had been with them for a bit longer.”

Yunho pinched his nose, “I’m almost scared to ask but… How bad is it?”

Their eyes met once Yunho removed his hands again and it was horrible. Whereas Sanghyuk didn’t know many details about the past between fairies and demons, Yunho probably did. It was clear in the absolute anguish reflected in his bright green eyes. He didn’t need to ask to know of all the horrible things the demons could have done to Hakyeon. Sanghyuk would like to spare him the details but he’d learn of them sooner or later. Better rip the band aid off now. He motioned for Jaehwan to continue. His partner saw the damage firsthand.

“Bruises, cuts, probably some broken bones and definitely a broken ankle.”

“But that’s not all, is it?”

Jaehwan shook his head sadly. “His wings are gone... I’m sorry, we didn’t get there in time.”

“Fuck!” And with one powerful throw the tree just a couple of steps behind them was impaled by Yunho’s lance, rage and agony dripping of the fairy in waves. “Fucking bastards! Didn’t they do enough already?! God damnit! I’ll personally rip off all their limbs with my bare fucking hands once I’ve found them!”

Sanghyuk would not like to be stuck in the Demons’ position. Not only because he fully believed Yunho was telling the truth but also because they had hurt Taekwoon and Wonshik. Sanghyuk and Jaehwan would not let that slide. Before he would have thought about upholding the law and simply imprison them but now? Now the four of them were out for blood.

As he watched Gikwang come back trough the portal with 5 menacing friends he had a thought. Maybe with the help of the fairies they could hunt them down and rid the earth off their fucking existence.


End file.
